Turkey suspends Mediterannean oil research plan as goodwill gesture to Greece
Turkey says it has suspended plans for seismic research for oil in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a goodwill gesture amid ongoing talks with neighboring Greece.
Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin made the announcement on Tuesday, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier told his aides to “be constructive and put this on hold for some time,” Kalin said.
Ankara announced plans last week to send the Oruc Reis research vessel and two support vessels to conduct operations in waters south of the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Kastellorizo through August 2.
The announcement angered Greece, a fellow NATO member whose relations with Turkey were already tense over a number of issues, including Cyprus.
The Greek Foreign Ministry said that the advisory issued for the operation by the Turkish navy covered part of the Greek continental shelf and called on Ankara to immediately cease the plan. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for European Union (EU) sanctions if Ankara did not back down.
Greece also put its armed forces on high alert throughout the territory in anticipation of Turkey’s plan, which also drew criticism from the United States, France, and other Western countries.
Kalin said, “Everyone should continue working on their continental shelves and conduct joint work in contested areas.”
He did say however that Greece had to drop its maximalist approach to maritime rights in relation to Kastellorizo Island, which is located in the south of Turkish mainland. The spokesman said that the Turkish advisory was in fact for a region situated some 180 kilometers away from Kastellorizo.
Kalin also said that the tensions with Greece had to be settled through dialog rather than threats against Turkey’s bid for accession to the EU.
Turkey and Greece have also been at loggerheads over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in Mediterranean waters. They are currently engaged in bilateral negotiations, mediated by Germany.
Kalin said Berlin had had a “constructive” approach and had proposed confidence-building measures in the Mediterranean aiming to defuse the tensions between Turkey and Greece.
He also said Germany aimed to “lay a positive ground with Turkey” and to take positive steps in favor of Ankara during its presidency of the EU.
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